Suspension for a drawer or shelf



Dec. 13, 1955 SUNDQUIST 2,726,905

SUSPENSION FOR A DRAWER OR SHELF INVENTOR. DOUGLAS C. Suuoouns Dec. 13, 1955 D. c. SUNDQUIST SUSPENSION FOR A DRAWER OR SHELF 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 1'7, 1952 INVENTOR. DOUGLAS C. SUNDOUIST ATTORNEY United States Patent O SUSPENSION FOR A DRAWER OR SHELF Douglas C. Sundquist, Jamestown, N. Y., assignor to Watson Manufacturing Company, Inc., Jamestown, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 17, 1952, Serial No. 266,863 Claims. 01. soc-3.8

This invention relates to improvements in suspensions of the type generally employed to support the extendable drawers or shelves of filing or storage units. More particularly the invention is directed to improvements in suspensions of the progressive type wherein predetermined relative travel of the operative members occurs during each extending or retracting operation.

Conventional suspensions provided as supports for the drawers of filing cabinets are intended to be so freely operable as to enable clerks to easily manipulate the drawers; that is, repeatedly extend or retract them, over long periods of time without effort or becoming tired. To enable such free operation, these suspensions are therefore designed with a more or less loose interfitting of the relatively movable members and, consequently, do not prevent lateral or vertical play of a drawer when retracted into a case or cabinet. Any vibration or jarring of a case having such suspensions would result in the drawer tending to creep into a partially open position where it could readily interfere with a clerks use in extending or retracting drawers of adjacent cabinets or cases. This objection was first overcome by providing the suspensions with relatively movable members which included parts that enabled a drop-in interfit when the members assumed a retracted position. This, of course, required greater effort on the part of a clerk to initiate movement of the drawer toward and extended or open position and was subsequently discarded in favor of any of several thumb and finger latches that were carried by the drawer front and engaged a convenient keeper located on a side wall of the cabinet or case.

The present invention is directed to a type of suspension in which the members have relatively progressive movement when being moved into extended or retracted position. The members comprising each of the two units of a given suspension are so designed as to have accurate interfitting by reason of which both vertical and lateral play of a drawer or shelf, carried thereby, is prevented. Thus, the members of the suspension, when in retracted position, are not subject to vibration or displacement and, during movement into extended or retracted position, produce no vibration. A shelf or drawer supported thereby may readily contain delicate parts or instruments and be substantially free of damage thereto under practically all conditions of use.

It is therefore a purpose and object of the invention to provide a progressive type suspension for drawers or shelves in which the relatively movable members are only capable of movement in the exact direction of their extension or retraction.

it is another and important object of the invention to provide a multiple member suspension with parts so designed as to so closely become interfitted and engaged, when the suspension is in retracted position, as to prevent any relative vertical or lateral play of the members of the suspension.

Another and important object of the invention lies in the provision of means by which to prevent any relative ice vibration as between the suspension support and a drawer or shelf when the suspension is in a fully retracted position.

A still further object of the invention lies in the provision of a suspension which automatically becomes latched when the members thereof are fully extended.

Other objects and advantages of the'invention will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an inside, side elevation of one of two duplicate units of a progressive suspension in which is em bodied one form of the invention, the suspension members being shown in retracted position;

Fig. 2 is an outside elevational view of the suspension shown in Fig. 1, being reversed end for end with respect to said figure;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the structure of Fig. 1, showing the members when only slightly extended;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the structure of Fig. 1, showing the relative position of the members when fully extended;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view showing stop structure by which to determine the fully extended relative position of two of the suspension members;

Fig. 6 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary side elevational view and particularly shows details of the forward and rearward ends of one of the suspension units; p Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the forward end of one unit, parts being broken away to show the interfitting of certain of the suspension members when the suspension is in fully retracted position;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary rear end view taken substantially on the line 83 of Fig. 1, parts of the suspension mount and drawer or shelf being indicated in section;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary front end view of the other unit of the suspension;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged transverse sectional view, taken substantially on the line 1010 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 11 is an enlarged transverse sectional view, taken substantially on the line 11-41 of Fig. 4.

Inasmuch as the present invention is entirely directed to a multiple member suspension, the supporting structure therefor, such as a case or cabinet, is only indicated and not shown in detail. Also, the structure which is carried by the suspensionnamely, a drawer or shelf-forms no part of the invention and is therefore only generally indi cated. The case or cabinet and the drawer or shelf and their relationship to the suspension constituting the invention are shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Referring particularly to these figures, the reference numeral 10 is employed to generally designate the vertical wall of a case, cabinet or other structure in which the suspension is intended to be mounted. To provide adequate support for the suspension, it is proposed to mount a channel member 11 on the inner face of the wall 10. This member includes a vertical base 12, shallow side walls 13, and edge flanges 14, the flanges abutting the wall It) and being permanently joined thereto in any suitable manner, as by welding. Adjacent the forward and rearward ends of the base 12, circular openings 16 are provided. These openings are intended to serve as a means for accurately locating each unit of the suspension and thus eliminate all possibility of improper installation such, for example, as forward or rearward tilting.

The suspension embodying the features of the invention consists of a pair of identical units in opposed relation ship, one being attached to the inner face of each of the vertipal wallsof a case or cabinet. These units are idennet channel 19.

, convenience, 7 guides are bent at right angles toward each other to form end closures 27. At the point-where these closures approach each other, midway of the vertical depth of the tical, the structural details and operation of only one of them being set forth. Each unit comprises three parts,-

namely, arail 17, extension slide 18, and case or cabi- The case or cabinet channel 19 comprises a backing plate 21 that, as shown in the drawing (Fig. 8) is substantially the width of the base 12. Adjacent the forward and rearward ends of this plate, circular lugs 22 are located, being adapted to project into the openings .16 of said base and thus positively and accurately locate the channel 19 with respect to the cabinet. Top and bottom guides are joined to the inner face of the plate 21 and extend substantially the full length ,of the plate, cooperating therewith to produce the fixed or cabi:

' net channel. "Each guide includes a horizontal portion .23

that is terminated along its edges by reversely directed flanges 24 and 25,. At the forward endof the channel the portion 23 of the lower guide is extended to form a tongue 26.. :On the lower guide the flange 24 is preferably of less width than on the upper guide for purposes of structural At their 'rear ends the portions 23 of the cabinet channel, they terminate in closely spaced, rearwardly extending lips 28. The bends that produce these lips are so made as to provide a slight taper to the opening' 29 produced thereby. The rear end of plate 21 is flanged, as at 31, and joined to the inner faces of closures 27. Flange 31 is slotted in alignment with the opening 29. Mounted in the uppermost guide is a stop bar 32. As suggested in 'dotted line in Fig. 4, this bar terminates flush with the forward end of the guide and extends rearwardly of the channel somewhat less than half the channels a housing for a roller 41 that is carried by a pin 42.

This roller is so located as to have rolling contact with the horizontal portion 23 of the top guide, of channel 19. Forwardly of the offset 39 that supports the roller, the channel 36 locates a stop finger 45. This finger extends into the path of the stop bar 32 and contacts the inner end thereofrby way of determining the extent to which the extension slide may be withdrawn from the channel 19 in the course of relative movement of these parts. Adiacent the forward and rearward ends of the slide, the base wall .of the channel 37is cut to provide slots. Rollers 43 and 44 project through'these slots and are supported by suitablepins. Both of these rollers contact the horizontal portion 23 of the bottom guide of the channel 19,. Substantially centrally of the length of. the slide 18 are located two additional rollers 46. These rollers project through the base wall of the lower channel 37 and contact the portion 23 of the bottom guide of the channel 19 and are of the same diameter as the previously mentioned rollers 43 and 44. Substantially directly above the rollers 46, the inner face of the wall 34 of the slide mounts a bracket 47 which is centrally offset to receive a pin supported roller 48. This roller has to do with travel of the rail 17. The inner face of wall 34, adjacent the forward end of the slide 18, is provided with a catch .bar 49. This bar is slotted, as at 51, and mounted for slidable movement by means of a headed pin 52. The forward end of the bar is somewhat return bent to provide a finger 53, the directional? the bend being away from the wall 34. .A leaf spring 54 is carried by the base wall of the channel136, the free end thereof'projecting downwardly of the channel "into engagement with the :upper edge of the ar 49.. This spring normally pivots the bar in such di- 4 rection that the finger 53 thereof will be in the plane of a cooperating portion on the upper edge of therail.

Each rail 17 provides support for one edge of a drawer or shelf, suggested at 52 in Figs. 8 and 9. The rail includes a vertical wall 57 that, along its upper edge, is flanged to provide a downwardly opening channel 58. Mounted in this channel is a bar 59 which extends beyond the rear end of the rail and cooperates with an extended portion of the base of'the channel 58 to provide what may be termed a tongue 61.. This tongue is intended to enter the opening 29 at the rear end of the channelwhen all parts of the slide are retracted. The lower edge of the wall 57 'terminatesfiin' asnpporting flange 62 which ex-" tends in the opposite direction from the flanges that form the channel 58, and is intended to support the drawer or shelf 56. Approximately a third back from the forward endof the rail is located an upper catch plate 63; This plate extends forwardlyrfrom the wall 57 and is bent over the outer face of the base wall of the channel 58 in order that it will be located in the plane of the finger 5 3 of bar'49.

At its forward end, the channel 58 of the slide :18 is closed by a wide plate .64. At the lower end of the wall 57 this plate 'is flanged outwardly as at 6,6, and thence downwardly, as at 67 .(see Figs. 6 and 7). The lower flange 67 is backed up .by an angle piece 68, the horizontal portion 69 of whichcooperates with the flange66to form a rearwardly opening pocket 71. This pocket is intended to receive the tongue .26 that extends beyond the front end of the lower portion of the channel 19. Adjacent the rear of. the railand attached to the under face of flange 62 is a bracket 72 which pivotally mounts a stop a member 73. This member includes a handle 74 and a stop head 76. The member is spring actuatedin one direction and is releasable by movement of the handle laterally with respect .to the flange on which it is carried.

.For a more complete understanding of the invention, a brief description of the association and operation of the various members of the suspension is set out as follows: The channel 19 is accurately located with respect to the side wall of a cabinet in which it is to be secured by projecting the two lugs 22 thereof into the openings 16 in the cabinet wall. Following this, screws are inserted in the give a slightly downward tilt to this slide, thus causing the rearmost roller 43 to move out of contact with the lowermost guide and also causing roller 41 to contact the uppermost guide. The bar 59provides a surface by which the'rail engages the rollers and 46 and in this manner, when the drawer or shelf is moved into extended position, progressive movement of the extension slidetakes place.

Of course, as the rail is withdrawn from the channel, the weight thereof tilts it downwardly and the outer or top wall of the channel 53 comesinto contact with roller 48. When the rail has been extended approximately a third of its length with respect to the channel 19, the catch plate 63 contacts the finger 5.3 of bar 49 and, as the rail is moved towards fully extended position, bar 49 is also moved to the limit of the length of the slot 51. The purpose of this bar is to provide a limit or stop to travel of the rail through the stop arrangement provided as between the extension slide 18 and the channel 19. In other'words, when the catch bar has been fully extended, the rail may move only to the extent that the slide may move. It 'will be noted that approximately at the point where this condition occurs the finger 45 of the slide contacts the i ner end of-the stop bar carried by the channel. Also precisely at the full extension of the slide and rail, the head 76 of the member 73 has sprung past block 78 located at the forward end of the lower flange 25 of the channel 19. Thus, when the suspension is fully extended, it is locked against accidentally being retracted. To return the extension, the handle 74 is actuated to withdraw the head 76 from alignment with the block. Following this, the drawer or shelf may be moved inwardly of the cabinet. The rail 17 and slide 18 have progressive retraction. When the drawer or shelf has traveled approximately two-thirds of the length of travel of the rail, an end wall of the drawer or shelf contacts the finger 53 of the bar 49, sliding this bar with respect to the slide 18. As the parts of the suspension approach complete retraction, they appear substantially as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing. Here it will be noted that the rear end of the channel 37 contacts the flange 31 which is a part of the end closure to the channel. The rail 17, however, still has a short distance to travel and, when this rail moves this further distance to become completely withdrawn into the channel, the tongue, at the rear end thereof, projects between the lips 28, this action producing a wedge-like grip as between these parts. Also, during this last movement of the rail, the tongue 26 of the channel 19 is received within the pocket 71 that is located at the forward end of the rail. In this manner the rail, when in fully retracted position, is directly engaged with the channel and, assuming the channel to be rigidly supported, the rail is held against any vibration or displacement with respect to said channel.

Although applicant has shown and described only one form of his invention, it will be understood that variations in the conventional details of the progressive elements of the suspension and the anti-friction support may be altered without in any way affecting the scope of the invention as defined in the annexed claims.

Having thus set forth my invention, what I claim as new and for which I desire protection by Letters Patent 1. In an extendable suspension for a drawer or shelf, a fixed channel, an extension slide, anti-friction means carried by said slide engaged with said channel, a drawer or shelf supporting rail, said anti-friction means, at least in part, supporting said rail, means forming a tapered recess at the rear of said channel, a tongue at the rear of said rail, said tongue being engaged with the walls of said recess when said rail is fully retracted into said channel, and serving to prevent relative vibration and displacement of said rail and said channel.

2. In an extendable suspension for a drawer or shelf, a fixed channel, an extension slide, anti-friction means carried by said slide engaged with said channel, a drawer or shelf supporting rail, said anti-friction means, at least in part, supporting said rail, a wall closing the rear end of said channel, asid wall being formed with a recess defined by a pair of tapered lips, a tongue extending be yond the rear end of said rail, said tongue tightly engaging said lips when said rail is fully retracted into said channel, said lips and tongue cooperating to secure said rail against vibration and displacement relative to said channel.

3. In an extendable suspension for a drawer or shelf, a fixed channel, an extension slide, anti-friction means carried by said slide engaged with said channel, a drawer or shelf supporting rail, said anti-friction means, at least in part, supporting said rail, a wall closing the forward end of said rail, a portion of said wall forming a rearwardly opening recess, a tongue extending beyond the forward end of said channel, said tongue being received in and engaged with the walls of said recess when said rail is fully retracted into said channel.

4. In an extendable suspension for a drawer or shelf, a fixed channel, an extension slide, anti-friction means carried by said slide engaged with said channel, a drawer or shelf supporting rail, said anti-friction means at least in part, supporting said rail, means forming a tapered recess at the rear of said channel, a tongue at the rear of said rail, said tongue being engaged with the walls of said recess when said rail is fully retracted into said channel, further means forming a rearwardly opening recess at the forward end of said rail, a tongue extending from the forward end of said channel, said tongue being engaged with the walls of said rail recess when said rail occupies a fully retracted position with respect to said channel.

5. In an extendable suspension for a drawer or shelf, a fixed channel, an extension slide, anti-friction means carried by said slide engaged with said channel, a drawer or shelf supporting rail, said anti-friction means, at least in part, supporting said rail, a wall closing the rear end of said channel, said wall being formed with a recess defined by a pair of tapered lips, a tongue extending beyond the rear end of said rail, said tongue tightly engaging said lips when said rail is fully retracted into said channel, a wall closing the forward end of said rail, a portion of said wall forming a rearwardly opening recess, a tongue extending beyond the forward end of said channel, said tongue being received in and engaged with the walls of said recess when said rail is fully retracted into said channel, the front and rear recesses and tongues, when interfitted, serving to secure said rail against vibration and displacement relative to said channel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,157,611 Jones et al May 9, 1939 2,486,764 Singer Nov. 1, 1949 2,561,163 Wolters July 17, 1951 2,603,549 Tessmer et al. July 15, 1952 

